Toyota was struggling today to avoid the impression that it had been forced
into another massive worldwide vehicle recall after offering to repair
650,000 Prius cars in a massive “customer satisfaction campaign” across
three continents.

The fault, though not a threat to passenger safety and not technically serious
enough to trigger an officially demanded safety recall, delivers a fresh
blow to the carmaker as it battles on to restore confidence in its brand.

Toyota’s reputation remains bruised after the global recall of 11 million
vehicles earlier this year and a looming collection of lawsuits over the
“sticky” accelerator pedal problems